Stevens Institute of Technology Selected to Compete in Energy Department’s Solar Decathlon 2013 for Second Consecutive Time

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu
announced Stevens Institute of Technology has been selected to compete
in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2013.

The Stevens team, titled “The Learning House,” will compete against 19
schools in the international competition to build a solar-powered,
energy-efficient home that combines affordability, consumer appeal and
design excellence.

"The Learning House Team at Stevens Institute of Technology is thrilled
to be selected for the 2013 Solar Decathlon. With an enthusiastic group
of students and their faculty mentors, we intend to showcase how
sustainable housing can be engineered to provide a new paradigm for
construction and adaptability," said Dr. Keith Sheppard, Associate Dean
of the Schaefer School of Engineering and Sciences.

The teams now begin a two-year process to design, construct and test
their homes before reassembling them at the Solar Decathlon 2013
competition site. In a departure from prior competitions held on the
Mall in Washington D.C., the 2013 event will be held in Irvine,
California.

“The Learning House will display sustainability in all facets of its
conception, from form through construction and in the dynamics of use.
The design embraces the idea of the home as an engineered system of
systems with embedded intelligence at the core,” said John Nastasi,
Industry professor and director of the Product-Architecture Program.
“The house represents a view of the future in which homes are no longer
built by traditional methods or to a template driven by the limitations
of those methods.”

As part of Solar Decathlon, teams compete in 10 different categories –
ranging from best architecture and engineering to energy production for
heating and cooling – while gaining invaluable real-world experience in
a growing global industry.

This is the second time Stevens students will compete in the
competition. In 2011, the “Empowerhouse” team tied for first-place in
two key categories: affordability and hot water. Overall, the team
placed in the top 10 in seven contests, finishing 13th out of 19 teams.

“We were delighted with the results of the 2011 Solar Decathlon
competition and look forward to seeing the excellent work our students
will do in 2013,” said Nariman Farvardin, Stevens President. “We have an
amazing team assembled and this highly-competitive project provides an
extraordinary opportunity for students to witness first-hand the power
of science, innovation and technology to improve lives."